The Road to Marriage Legalization
by Amber Stone Collins
Summary: One shot in which Tulio and Miguel respond to the news that gay marriage has been legalized. Don't ask why they are suddenly in modern America. That's not important.


"Tulio, turn on the news!" Miguel panted into the phone, out of breath with excitement.

"Is this really necessary, Miguel?" Tulio asked, annoyed, putting down his morning coffee to pick up the clicker.

"Absolutely," the other replied, excitement raising the pitch of his voice.

Tulio turned on the tv.

"What channel?" he asked.

"Any news channel."

Tulio surfed slowly, trying to remember which channel Chel usually turned on in the morning. She'd been out of town for a few days now and was scheduled to return tomorrow. In her absence, the house and the tv had basically turned to chaos.

"I'm standing outside The Supreme Court where we have just received news that gay marriage is now legal in the United States no matter where you live. To all of you couples who may now join the ranks of married society, I say congratulations."

Tulio dropped the remote and would have dropped the phone too if Miguel hadn't shouted, "Can you believe it!?"

Tulio didn't respond, prompting Miguel to continue.

"Tulio, I'm coming over there right now. Don't go to work. Call in sick. I'll be in there a few minutes. I love you."

Tulio hung up. I love you. Miguel had only said those words to him twice. Once when they were on the row boat, thinking they would never see humanity again. And now. Tulio quickly shook his head and downed the rest of his coffee, grabbing his keys and heading towards work as fast as he could.

Ten minutes into the car ride, his phone started to ring. He ignored the first few calls, but picked up on the fourth.

"Look, Miguel..." he began.

"Tulio?" a feminine voice said.

"Oh, Chel," Tulio said, sighing. "Sorry, Miguel's been pestering me all morning."

"I guess he heard the news," Chel commented, sounding indifferent.

"Yeah. It's exciting for all the gay people I'm sure," Tulio replied, trying to sound equally indifferent.

"Look, Tulio, I talked to my boss and he agreed to let me fly back early. I'll be home tonight," Chel told him.

"Why? You don't need to come home," Tulio said, confused.

"I'm not stupid, Tulio," Chel reminded him. "We need to talk about what all of this means. You can invite Miguel if you want, but I would rather talk to you alone first, ok?"

"Ok."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Today was weird. Miguel had said "I love you," but Chel hadn't. Chel never hesitated to share how much she loved Tulio especially when Miguel was around.

Work was painful. Many of Tulio's coworkers came up throughout the day, talking about how exciting the news was. Tulio struggled to respond correctly, hoping none of them could see how truly conflicted he was.

When work finally ended, it was a blessing and a curse. Chel was scheduled to be home in an hour and Miguel had never stopped calling. Tulio decided to finally call his friend back on the drive home.

"My boss said I couldn't have the day off," he lied. "We'll hang out tomorrow, ok?"

"No, tonight. I'm coming over tonight," Miguel insisted.

"No," Tulio told him. "Chel is coming home tonight and I want to spend some time with her. I haven't seen her in nearly a week. We'll hang out tomorrow. Maybe. If I have time."

"Tulio..." Miguel said, trailing off, sadness evident in his voice.

"Miguel, it's ok. We can survive one day apart. Tomorrow," Tulio said again, already struggling to calculate how he would get out of seeing his best friend.

"Yeah, sure," Miguel muttered before hanging up.

Tulio sighed and turned on his music.

 _Someday out of the blue_

 _In a crowded street or a deserted square_

 _I'll turn and I'll see you as if our love were new_

 _Some day we can start again some day soon_

 _Here comes the night_

 _Here come the memories_

 _Lost in your arms_

 _Down in the foreign fields_

 _Not so long ago_

 _Seems like eternity_

 _Those sweet afternoons_

 _Still capture me_

Tulio sang along up until he realized that the only person this song reminded him of was Miguel. He remembered so clearly their nights on that abandoned ship. Exploring forbidden territory with each other, believing wholeheartedly that they were dead men and no one would ever find out.

 _I still believe_

 _I still put faith in us_

 _We had it all and watched it slip away_

 _Where are we now?_

 _Not where we want to be_

 _Those hot afternoons_

 _Still follow me_

He remembered landing on the island, believing then that they weren't dead, but that they would never find people. They continued their romance, happy only to be together until Chel showed up. Out of desperation to wipe away his "sins," Tulio slept with Chel, keeping her by his side from that moment on to keep Miguel away.

 _Some day out of the blue_

 _Maybe years from now_

 _Or tomorrow night_

 _I'll turn and I'll see you_

 _As if we always knew_

 _Some day we would live again, some day soon_

Tulio turned the radio off, unable to bear listening anymore.

When he got home, Chel's car was already in the driveway. Maybe he flight had been early. Tulio took a deep breath and got out of his car, walking into the house.

"Chel?" he said as he walked in, looking around.

"In here," she replied from the living room.

She sat on the couch with a glass of wine in her hand, already half drunk, and a full glass on the coffee table in front of her. Tulio sat beside her, moving to kiss her, but landing his lips on her cheek when she turned her head. He picked up his glass of wine and took a larger-than-necessary sip.

"Tulio..." she started before trailing off, unable to look at him.

"Chel, what's wrong?" Tulio asked.

Chel took a deep breath and turned to the man she loved, a familiar look of determination on her face.

"I love you, Tulio. You know that. And because I love you, because I know you so well, I know you don't love me."

"Chel I-"

"No," she said, interrupting him. "Don't lie to me, Tulio. I know that you have tried to love me. I've seen how hard you tried and I thank you for that, but this relationship is hurting both of us. If it was only me... if I was the only one you were trying to love, it would be different. But, Tulio, I can't stop you from being yourself anymore. I never should have tried."

"Chel, stop this. I don't want to be with anyone else," Tulio insisted.

Chel look up at him, pain glistening in her eyes. Tulio looked away.

"I've seen the way you look at Miguel," she said. "I've seen the way you lean into his touch and smile when he speaks."

"Chel, I told you. What happened between me and Miguel... we were lost at sea. We thought that we would never see humans again and we made mistake, but I'm not like that, Chel. I'm attracted to you. I know I'm attracted to you. You know it to."

"You can be attracted to both, Tulio," Chel reminded him, sighing. "I know this is hard for you, but with the legalization of gay marriage, I thought maybe you'd want to try accepting yourself."

"Chel, I love you," Tulio said.

"No, you don't," Chel replied, standing. "I invited Miguel over. I'm going to stay with my friends for a while."

"Wait!" Tulio exclaimed, standing. "Chel, please don't leave."

Chel looked at him, giving him a small smile.

"We'll still be friends, Tulio."

Tulio started to argue again, but stopped. Wasn't this the chance he'd been dreaming of for years? He took a deep breath.

"Promise?"

Chel smiled, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Friends never say goodbye, right?" she said.

Tulio couldn't help himself, he pulled Chel to him and hugged her tight. He felt her shake with sobs for a moment before finally wrapping her arms around him and hugging him back just as tight.

"I do love you, you know," he muttered into her haid.

She nodded.

"I know." She pulled away. "But you love him differently."

Tulio nodded, feeling a tear escape from his eye as well.

"See you later, Tulio," Chel said, walking away quickly before she could change her mind.

As soon as she was out the door, Tulio grabbed his phone and called Miguel.

"Tulio?" Miguel answered, confused.

"Get your ass over here," Tulio said, smiling through his tears.

"Really?" Miguel asked.

Tulio laughed as he heard the slam of the car door as Miguel immediately began driving over.

"Yes really. I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"No spoilers. I'll tell you when you're here."

With that, Tulio hung up and grabbed another glass, pouring wine for Miguel. When he found the bottle, he saw that it was over halfway empty. Chel must have had a least a glass before he got there. For a moment, Tulio froze, wondering if losing Chel was really something he could do.

He lept up from the couch when Miguel knocked on the door a few minutes later.

"Tulio, what did you want-"

Tulio cut him off, pressing his mouth firmly against Miguel's. Miguel melted instantly, wrapping his arms around Tulio and letting his friend drag him inside.

An hour later, they lay cuddled in each other's arms naked together for the first time since they left El Dorado.

"What did you want to tell me?" Miguel asked, curling into Tulio's chest contentedly.

"I love you," Tulio replied, kissing the head of his friend turned lover.

"I love you too."


End file.
